The Family - Review

At this point, Robert De Niro has built an entire subgenre of movies in which he sticks his tongue out at his cinematic legacy. After inventing our modern idea of a wiseguy in films like The Godfather Part II and Goodfellas, the actor has spent much of the last 20 years lampooning it in farces like the funny Analyze This (and its disappointing sequel Analyze That)and the very funny Meet the Parents (and its very disappointing sequels Meet the Fockersand Little Fockers). The results have been mixed, but De Niro's star hasn't faded — maybe because the line between those movies and his more serious work (eg, Silver Linings Playbook) has remained so clear.